


A Mercenary Day Carol

by Spectral_Cat



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Holidays, On Hiatus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21686788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectral_Cat/pseuds/Spectral_Cat
Summary: When Rhys starts to take his role as CEO of Atlas too seriously, it's up to Handsome Jack to (ironically) help him get in the Mercenary Day spirit.
Relationships: Handsome Jack & Rhys (Borderlands), Rhys & Vaughn (Borderlands), Rhys/Sasha (Borderlands)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	A Mercenary Day Carol

**Author's Note:**

> So I wanted to get this up before Christmas, but between travelling for the holidays and dealing with a broken keyboard, it just didn't happen. So have this to celebrate the New Year. This entire story is just a testament to the fact that I watched way too many versions of A Christmas Carol over the holidays. 
> 
> Also, I haven't played Borderlands 3, but this takes place a year after Tales, so sorry if some things don't line up with canon. 
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy, thank you for reading, and feel free to leave a comment!

It was good to be king. 

That was what Rhys told himself anytime work got too stressful, anyways. It was what he told himself now as he poured over the papers on his desk, trying to figure out how he was going to get these work orders sorted out by the end of the week. Loader Bot was busying himself in the corner of his office, sorting through inventory and occasionally bringing Rhys files when he asked for them.

Rhys pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, trying to clear his head. It wasn't that he was ungrateful for his position. Really, he had everything he had every dreamed about. He was CEO of his own company, rich as hell, and didn't have to answer to anyone other than himself. Rebuilding Atlas was a challenge, but getting the old station up and running again on Pandora had been the first step in the right direction. To his surprise, business had picked up quickly, and he was thankful for that. 

He just wished it was a different time of year. Mercenary Day was coming up, something that Rhys had never personally cared about, but his employees were insisting on celebrating this year.

It wasn't that he blamed them. They never got to celebrate it when they worked for Hyperion, after all. Who had time to celebrate with the constant threat of being airlocked looming over your head? 

Rhys had told himself when he first revived Atlas that he was never going to be the type of boss he had worked for in the past. He was actually going to treat his employees like human beings. But with the pressure mounting, he had to admit that he was finding it harder and harder to compromise and make everyone happy. 

He looked up as he heard the the doors to his office sliding open and saw Vaughn walking through, carrying a large stack of papers. 

"Here are those files you wanted, bro," he said, heaving them on Rhys' desk. "I can't believe you're still here, everyone else went home for the night." 

"Yeah, well, someone has to get some work done around here," Rhys snapped, pulling the files over to him and beginning to sort through them. 

Vaughn raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "What's up your ass?" he asked. 

"Nothing, sorry," Rhys said, feeling guilty for letting his frustration get to him. "It's just that this is one of the busiest weeks we've ever had, but people aren't exactly focused on getting anything done." 

"Can you blame them? This is the first time they've gotten to celebrate Mercenary Day in years! I thought you would be excited, too," Vaughn said. 

Rhys finally looked up from the files. "Why? We never celebrated it when we were kids, I don't really see any reason to start now." 

Vaughn shurgged. "Aw c'mon, man. Janey and Athena invited everyone over to their place tomorrow. You should come. "Then he grinned and gave Rhys a knowing look. " _Sasha's_ gonna be there." 

Rhys felt himself blush. It was true that he hadn't seen Sasha in a while, but that was hardly his fault. She, along with everyone else, should understand how busy he was. And if Vaughn thought he was going to use her as bait to get Rhys to side with him, he had another thing coming.

"I'm going to be here tomorrow, and so should you. So should anyone who cares about their holiday bonus, for that matter. I sent out the email this afternoon. I'm surprised you haven't seen it yet."

Vaughn looked at him, mouth hanging open. "Dude, you've got to be kidding! That's a low blow." 

Rhys suddenly stood up and slammed his hands on the desk, finally losing his patience. "You think that's a low blow? What about last year when we were all fearing for our lives? This is a walk in the park compared to that. People should be more appreciative." 

Vaughn was angry now, too. "Oh wow, you're not killing people! How generous of you! You know, I think that just maybe this role is getting to your head." 

Rhys was fuming. "Getting to my head? Do you realize the kind of pressure I'm under? These people literally put me up on a pedestal the moment I destroyed Helios, and now they expect me to be the perfect boss. But I'm CEO of a company, Vaughn. I can't be the nice guy all the time."

"It's just for one day, Rhys," Vaughn said, exasperated. "I'm saying this because I care about you. I don't want you going down a path you might regret. Sure, you might think this is small, but what about next year? And the year after that? The company is gonna get bigger, and-"

"Are you trying to tell me how to run my company?" Rhys interrupted. 

"No, I just-"

"Because it kind of sounds like you are. No one has any right to tell me how to do my job. I'm going to do what's best for this company, and everyone is gong to go along with it with a smile on their faces because I'm the boss. They. Answer. To. Me," Rhys said, jabbing his finger onto his desk to emphasize his point. 

Vaughn frowned. "I don't like this, Rhys. You're starting to sound like Handsome Ja-" His eyes went wide and his hand flew over his mouth, but it was too late. 

Rhys felt his whole body stiffen, and he could tell that Vaughn instantly regretted what he had just said. But the coldness he felt seep into his chest left no room for sympathy.

"Get. Out," he whispered. 

"Bro, I didn't mean it, I-"

"Get out!" Rhys repeated. "And I don't want to hear anything about Mercenary Day for the rest of the year. Or ever, for that matter. Do you understand?" 

Vaughn opened his mouth, looking like he was going to protest, but then closed it in, seemingly deciding not to argue. He knew a line had been crossed.

"Yes," he said quietly, before turning and walking quickly towards the doors. He paused once he reached them, turned slightly, as if he were about to say something else, then, thinking better, walked out the doors and let them close behind him. 

Rhys sat back down at his desk with a huff. Was he being harsh? Maybe, but there was no way that comparing him to Handsome Jack was fair. Jack had been a power hungry psychopath. He was ever going to end up like that. 

He turned to look at Loader Bot, who he hadn't noticed had been watching them argue, but had remained silent the entire time. "You don't think I'm being unfair, right?" 

"I'm not programmed to have opinions," Loader Bot said flatly. 

Rhys frowned and turned back to his work. "Of course I'm not," he said to himself. He was only doing what was necessary. It was just a measly little holiday bonus. His employees would get over it. What was so great about Mercenary Day, anyways? It was just another day, like any other. One that could be productive if people actually listened to him. If they actually showed up tomorrow. 

He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, glaring down at the overflow of work on his desk. "Mercenary Day," he scoffed. "Bah humbug." 

* * *

That night, Rhys tossed and turned in bed, his conversation with Vaughn playing over and over again in his head. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned over to lay on his back. His tablet, sitting on his nightstand, was built with a holographic feature that projected the time onto the ceiling. It showed that it was a little past midnight. 

Rhys threw a pillow over his face a groaned into it. How was he supposed to get any work done tomorrow if he couldn't sleep?

He sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly, then stretched. He opened his eyes when he felt his hand make contact with the glass of water on his nightstand. The one he had completely forgotten about.

He whipped his head around only to see the glass fall over and, in what seemed like slow motion, spill it's contents all over his tablet. 

"Crap crap crap!" Rhys yelled, instantly jumping out of bed and grabbing the tablet out of the pool of water, attempting to furiously dry it off with his bed sheets. 

He gave up after a few minutes, realizing that it was a lost cause. The screen had gone completely black, and it refused to turn on. 

"Great," Rhys said, tossing it onto the floor. Just one more thing that was going to make his life so much easier tomorrow. Luckily he could access his files from his work computer, but he used his tablet for most of his business, and now he needed a new one. Which he wouldn't be able to get until after tomorrow, since all the stores would be closed. 

He jumped when he heard a loud *pop,* followed by sparks flying from his tablet. 

"Shit!" he cried, running to his kitchen to grab the fire extinguisher he kept in his kitchen.

When he returned, the room was so thick with smoke that he had to blindly shoot the extinguisher in the direction he remembered the tablet being. He must have hit his mark, because the popping noise stopped, and the room slowly began to clear. Rhys coughed and waved his hand in front of his face, trying to clear what was left of the smoke.

He squinted in the darkness as he saw a blue light slowly take form, and as he realized with growing horror what it was, a familiar voice spoke out to him. 

"Hey there, kiddo." 

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: So I know it's been a while since I updated. That's unfortunately because my life has taken kind of a drastic turn lately, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to writing. Thank you to everyone who has read/commented/left a kudos, though. It really means a lot.


End file.
